


I Forgot That You Existed

by arborealstops



Series: Lover [1]
Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/F, Help, Songfic, i've never written anything like this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-09-29 14:44:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20437754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arborealstops/pseuds/arborealstops
Summary: “Nothing,” CJ replied, smile never leaving her face.  “I’m thinking about nothing.”





	I Forgot That You Existed

_How many days did I spend / Thinkin’ ‘bout how you did me wrong, wrong, wrong_

It wasn’t something CJ liked to think about. A dark hotel room, too much to drink, whispered words that had been too slurred to make out. Stumbling, pulling, ripping- barely conscious, sloppy kissing away from everyone else, hiding from the rest of the staff, trying to prove her worth on the trail. Waking to an empty hotel room, messy bedsheets, and nearly no memories of the night before, though those would return soon enough. 

It wasn’t something CJ liked to think about, but it was always there, pressing at the back of her mind. When she was out at a bar, when she was in a room alone with a man she barely knew, when she heard John Hoynes’s name on the news. Not because she was afraid that someone would discover that secret, but scared that it would happen again if she wasn’t careful. So she avoided the expensive rum, wore longer dresses, and stayed away from vice presidents. Nights out were fun, as long as she had the boys there, but as soon as they left, she was out, usually far more sober than either of them. 

Which is why it came as a bit of a shock to her when she agreed to go out for drinks with Kate Harper. 

The younger woman had stopped by her office just as CJ had been grabbing her jacket. It’d been a long day, and if anyone could understand that as well as CJ could, it would be Kate. That, she told herself, must be why she chose to agree to the night out. 

Settling on a barstool next to the blonde deputy, CJ unconsciously glanced around, looking for anyone who could pose a threat to either her or Kate. There was a tall man in the back corner, but he seemed to have a date, and a skinnier man a few stools down from them, but otherwise the bar was, for the moment, empty. She felt her shoulders drop a little, releasing tension she hadn’t realized she’d been holding onto as she turned to Kate, who was unabashedly studying her. But when CJ turned back toward her, her eyes flicked up to meet CJ’s. “What do you want?”

“W- what?” CJ’s brow wrinkled. Had she already managed to piss off Kate?

But the answer to that became obvious soon enough, as Kate let out a light laugh. “For your drink- what do you want?”

“Oh.” CJ’s face turned a rather marvelous shade of fuschia before she took a deep breath. “You choose.” 

With a grin, Kate leaned over toward the bartender and quietly placed their orders. CJ cocked her head slightly but decided that Kate was trustworthy enough to have been in the CIA, so she must be trustworthy enough to order a drink. 

As they waited- and continued to drink, long after- the discussion turned to White House gossip, and men, and office romances, and before she knew it, CJ was more tipsy than she’d been in a while. Not drunk, not yet, still conscious enough to know exactly what she was doing, but loose enough to actually enjoy it.

So, when Kate asked her to dance, she readily agreed. As they grooved to the music, CJ found herself unable to look away from the blonde. She watched closely at how she moved with the beat, the small smile on her face, her half-closed eyes. 

“Quit staring and dance with me.”

CJ blinked and flushed bright red. “I-”

Kate reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her closer. “Come on.”

It took a moment for CJ to loosen up, but then a slower song came on, and CJ’s hands went to Kate’s waist. They quietly swayed to the music, and Kate leaned her head on CJ’s shoulder. “What are you thinking about?”

CJ paused for a moment. Normally, at a bar late at night, she’d have one thing, one person on her mind. But tonight, with Kate, for the first time in a while, she felt safe. A small smile spread across her face.

“What?” Kate looked up at her, brow wrinkled in confusion.

“Nothing,” CJ replied, smile never leaving her face. “I’m thinking about nothing.”


End file.
